I came across a story that all of us can appreciate, whether we are trial lawyers or anyone who faces deadlines, unexpected events, or needs to perform under pressure.

A story taken from “Have a Little Faith” by Mitch Albom.

A man seeks employment on a farm. He hands his letter of recommendation to his new employer. It reads simply, “He sleeps in a storm.” The owner is desperate for help, so he hires the man. Several weeks pass, and suddenly, in the middle of the night, a powerful storm rips through the valley.

Awakened by the swirling rain and howling wind, the owner leaps out of bed. He calls for his new hired hand, but the man is sleeping soundly. So he dashes off to the barn. He sees, to his amazement, that the animals are secure with plenty of feed. He runs out to the field. He sees the bales of wheat have been bound and are wrapped in tarpaulins. He races to the silo. The doors are latched, and the grain is dry.

And then he understands. “He sleeps in a storm.”

His employee tended to all of the things that were important during the course of the day and paid attention to the details. So that when the crunch time came, he was totally prepared.

How would you like to be completely ready for your trial, so that you could stop panicking and running around in circles? You can…focus on the details of the case, prepare your witnesses, check and number your exhibits, organize your thoughts and complete your outline of presentation. Spend plenty of time thinking and analyzing the case. It would be great to be totally organized, cool, calm, collected, and able to focus on the arguments and details that are really important. The more up front preparation you have done, the more likely it will be that you will be less frantic at trial time.

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